Month: November 2016

Looks like Odelia isn’t the only ‘Corpse Magnet’ in the family…as she is about to learn!

It’s a rockin’ flashback for Odelia Grey when her mother asks her to look into the disappearance of a neighbor, the former lead singer for a band Odelia idolized in her youth. But when a body is found in Bo Shank’s house by another member of Odelia’s family, everything quickly gets thrown out of tune.

With a lot of bumping and grinding to her own rock tune, Odelia is about to flush the guilty parties out into the open.

It’s the 11th outing for this sassy lady Odelia Grey

As always with the Odelia books, will have you laughing at the situations she and her family gets themselves into.

Sue Ann holds you captive, as she spins her stories and draws you into the world of Odelia Grey.

I Love the Odelia books. And this one will keep you laughing and on the edger of your seat, from start to finish.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Midnight Ink Books and downloaded via NetGalley.

Jessica Fletcher would like to relax as Thanksgiving comes to Cabot Cove. But she’s suffering from a rare case of writer’s block while helping with the town’s Thanksgiving pageant, feeding its needy citizens, and trying to find a room for her dear friend Scotland Yard inspector George Sutherland, who’s coming from London. Most distressing of all, Jessica is hosting a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner for an ever-growing guest list.

But Jessica bravely carries on toward her culinary conquest, and she couldn’t be more thankful for the results. Until she and George take a post-turkey stroll and stumble upon the body of a man with an ornate carving knife stuck in his chest. Everyone knows that the holidays can be murder — but Jessica is going to make sure this is one holiday mystery that doesn’t go unsolved….

With characters that we know and love from the hit tv series. This was an enjoyable read, that was well plotted with plenty of twists and turns.

These are ‘stand alone’ books that can be read in any order, and I will be reading more of the Murder She Wrote books as and when I can.

Henry Twyst, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth, is convinced his mother is losing her marbles. She claims to have seen a corpse on the dining-room floor, but all she has to prove it is a bloodied bobble hat.
Worried enough to retain the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency, one is Welsh, one Irish, one Scottish and one English, Henry wants the strange matter explained away. But the truth of what happened at the Chellingworth Estate, set in the rolling Welsh countryside near the quaint village of Anwen by Wye, is more complex, dangerous, and deadly, than anyone could have foreseen . . .

I really enjoyed the start to this new series. With a good set of characters, it is well written with plenty of twists and turns. Well worthy reading.

With her father away in India, Lady Alkmene Callender finds being left to her own devices in London intolerably dull, until the glamorous Broadway star Evelyn Steinbeck arrives in town! Gossip abounds about the New York socialite, but when Ms Steinbeck’s wealthy uncle, Silas Norwhich, is found dead Lady Alkmene finds her interest is piqued. Because this death sounds a lot to her like murder…

Desperate to uncover the truth, Lady Alkmene begins to look into Ms Steinbeck’s past – only to be hampered by the arrival of journalist, Jake Dubois – who believes she is merely an amateur lady-detective meddling in matters she knows nothing about!

But Lady Alkmene refuses to be deterred from the case and together they dig deeper, only to discover that some secrets should never come to light…

I found it an OK read, if you are not a stickler to historic details or insertions of Americanisms that wouldn’t have been used at that period of time in England. I could see where the author was trying to go with the social issues of the time, between Jake Dubois and Lady Alkmene. And Lady Alkmene thinks herself worldly wise, but in truth is very very naïve.

Hopefully book 2 and 3 that I have agreed to review gets better.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Carina Books UK and downloaded via NetGalley.

In between Mission Impossible, White Collar and the A Team. The Pursuit is a fast paced action packed rollercoaster ride, with non-stop laughs and high jinks.

FBI agent Kate O’Hare’s covert partner has been kidnapped. But she is in hot pursuit…

Nicolas Fox, con man, thief, and one of the top ten fugitives on the most-wanted list, has been kidnapped from a retreat in Hawaii. The kidnapper doesn’t know that Nick Fox has been secretly working for the FBI and that his partner, Special Agent Kate O’Hare, is on their trail.

The pursuit leads to Belgium, France and Italy, and pits Nick and Kate against a deadly adversary: Dragan Kovic, an ex-military officer from Serbia. He’s plotting a crime that will net him billions… and cost thousands of lives.

Nick and Kate have to mount an audacious con to avert catastrophe. The pressure’s on for them to make this work – even if they have to lay their lives on the line…

This is one enjoyable read, that had me laughing at the antics of Nick, Kate and the crew from start to finish. My first encounter with Fox and O’Hare, and probably wont be my last!

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Headline Books and downloaded via NetGalley.

The third book in the Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgin Mystery series.

Eliza is looking forward to getting dressed up in her new togs for four society weddings, one of which she is a bridesmaid and another is her cousin Inspector Jack Shaw’s wedding.

For Henry Higgins, weddings are a dull affair and he could do without them, even his nieces wedding…until the deaths start to occur.

With missing Indian temple treasures, an American lady sharp shooter and a dangerous visit to London’s East End. Can Eliza and Henry untangle the maze of clues to uncover the murderer…before they become the next victims?

This was my first taste of the Doolittle and Higgins mysteries, and I must admit that I found it delightful and amusing. It is well packed with twists and turns, a good set of characters, well plotted and written.

I will be looking to read the earlier books and future books in this series.

D.E. Ireland is the pseudonym of authors Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Grainger Press and downloaded via NetGalley.

4 Stars****

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Although Eliza still refuses to marry Freddy Eynsford Hill, everyone around her seems headed for the altar. Not only is her cousin Inspector Jack Shaw about to wed his sweetheart, but Freddy’s younger sister Clara is engaged, along with the niece of Henry Higgins. Another blushing bride is the sixty-year-old Duchess of Carbrey, who plans to marry a handsome fellow half her age. But when the groom is found dead, a jealous mistress is blamed for the murder. However, the death may also be connected to the stolen treasure of an Indian temple.

Disaster strikes next at Jack and Sybil’s wedding. Soon after, the wedding reception of Higgins’s niece takes a lethal turn. Someone is targeting bridegrooms, and the wedding of Freddy’s sister is next. Before another bridal bouquet is tossed, Higgins and Eliza must track down the killer. Otherwise, Clara’s bridegroom – and perhaps the bride herself – may be murdered before they can get to the church on time.

It’s tea for two hundred or so at the annual historic homes garden party. And Theodosia, as event caterer, is busy serving steaming teas and blackberry scones while guests sing her praises.

But the sweet smell of success turns to suspense when an esteemed guest is found dead… his hand clutching an empty teacup. All eyes are on Theo… who is now trying desperately to save her reputation and track down the real killer.

If only she can make sense of it all…before someone else takes their last sip.

It’s been some time, so I thought I would go back to the beginning and re-read…I checked the date…15 years since this series first started!

And it still holds all the charm and delight as it did all those years ago.

With a great cast of characters that you will be able to follow their lives through the series, in a well plotted and written mystery.

Jack’s a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in Cherringham. Sarah’s a Web designer who’s moved back to the village find herself. But their lives are anything but quiet as the two team up to solve Cherringham’s criminal mysteries.

This compilation contains episodes 1 – 3: MURDER ON THAMES, MYSTERY AT THE MANOR and MURDER BY MOONLIGHT. Here Jack and Sarah investigate a suicide in the River Thames – or was it murder? They investigate an “accidental” fire with deadly consequences, and they nab the culprit behind the Rotary Club choir poisoning.

I enjoyed these charming novella’s, that introduce 2 unlikely detectives that work well together. A good set of characters, well plotted and written. Ideal for any cozy reader to curled up and get comfortable with.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Bastei Entertainment and downloaded via NetGalley.

4 Stars****

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Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new mystery thriller released each month. Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo: English web designer Sarah and American ex-cop Jack. Thrilling and deadly – but with a spot of tea – it’s like Rosamunde Pilcher meets Inspector Barnaby. Each of the self-contained episodes is a quick read for the morning commute, while waiting for the doctor, or when curling up with a hot cuppa.

Co-authors Neil Richards (based in the UK) and Matthew Costello (based in the US), are known for their script work on major computer games. The Cherringham crime series is their first fictional transatlantic collaboration.

With a gentleman thief the papers have called ‘Raffles’, stealing small items of great value and holding them for ransom. And art thefts by a gang known as ‘The Croesus Gang’, Scotland Yard have got their hands full.

When Sir Wormelow Tump and also the steward from Belton Abbey, visit Chief Superintendent Dephick asking that Miss Seeton be put on the case…Dephick decides that it might be a good idea to send MissEss on a little holiday with her self proclaimed nephew Sergeant Bob Ranger and his wife Anne.

While visiting Belton Abbey and the surrounding area, Miss Seeton with sketch book and brolly in hand, draws her own unique conclusions to the thefts and the thieves.

Another delightfully fun read in the Miss Seeton mysteries. Always a pleasure.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Farrago Books and downloaded via NetGalley.

4 Stars****

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How do you catch an art thief? With artistic bait, of course. And who else but the talented Miss Seeton would provide a painting for Scotland Yard, hoping it will get stolen? Before the trap is sprung, a second thief strikes . . . in one of England’s most stately homes. Now Miss Seeton – incognito – is off to the scene to draw her own conclusions . . .

Serene amidst every kind of skulduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella!

It’s a dark day for Scottish barrister Rex Graves when he learns that Lord Gordon Murgatroyd has passed away. Referred to as “Judge Murder” by Rex’s colleagues, the famously severe judge supposedly died of natural causes—but his daughter Phoebe thinks otherwise.

Wanting to honor the man who’d always been uncharacteristically kind to him, Rex thinks it would be a good idea to follow up on Phoebe’s suspicions . . . until a meeting with a suspect leaves him drugged and beaten within an inch of his life. With a target on his back and a child abduction case gripping the region, Rex fears that the judge’s death won’t be an isolated incident.

Enjoyed this story, with a good set of characters, well plotted and written. Will keep you gripped right to the end!

This was my first taste of the Rex Graves Mysteries, and will not be my last.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Published by Midnight Ink books and downloaded via NetGalley.